The Wooden Duck of Edinburgh

Philosophical Story

On June 11, 1762, Rousseau was ordered to leave France after the government banned his educational treatise Emile. His protectress, Marie-Charlotte-Hippolyte wrote to Hume asking him to house the Frenchman in Scotland, where the heart is free. Rousseau was not happy with this solution because he never trusted Hume; however, in the last couple of months he really got into Chinese philosophy and one gem of wisdom he learned was that you should keep your friends close but your enemies closer.

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Introduction

Emotions are a pain in the neck sometimes.

We have all been there. One day you might start to feel useless, as if you were not adding value to anything you put efforts in. No matter how many times your loved ones tell you that you are a fundamental part of their lives and no matter how many accomplishments you achieve, this feeling of uselessness keeps eating away at you.

But emotions are also bliss. On the other side of the spectrum, you can start to feel like everything in your life finally goes smoothly. No matter how many small issues you find along the way, positive emotions help you in dealing with them and in seeing them as small and insignificant obstacles.

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